Shrimp and Radicchio Slaw Recipe

Although you can find it grocery stores year-round, technically speaking, radicchio, like all members of the chicory family to which it belongs, is a winter vegetable. In this warm-ish slaw, the slightly bitter taste of radicchio is made more palatable with warm bacon and a touch of sugar in the dressing. Laced with loads of basil, it is also a gentle if perhaps premature reminder that summer still exists. Dressing the tomatoes separately with salt and either oil or vinaigrette is something that I learned from working with Nancy Silverton: if you make each layer of flavor as good as it can be, then the dish will be as good as it can be.

Double this recipe if you're cooking for two, or if you want a wilted slaw with room temperature shrimp for tomorrow's lunch. You can also make it with sea scallops in place of the shrimp.

Ingredients

½ cup fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (stack the leaves about 5 at a time, roll them up like a rug, and thinly slice them)

1 thick slice bacon, diced or sliced ¼-inch thin

2 tablespoons olive oil, for cooking

8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt

For the dressing:

½ cup small cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced or grated

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sugar

Freshly grated black pepper

Directions

For the radicchio:

Combine the radicchio and basil in a bowl big enough to toss it comfortably.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is golden brown but not crispy, 3-5 minutes.

Add the bacon and the rendered fat to the bowl with the radicchio. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan you cooked the bacon in and then add the shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt, and cook for about 1 minute per side, until they are cooked through. Add the shrimp to the bowl with the radicchio.

For the dressing:

In a mixing bowl, add the tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, sugar, and pepper. Stir to combine and drizzle the tomatoes and dressing over the slaw; you may not use all of the dressing. Toss the slaw, eat, and try to remember that summer is just around the bend.

Carolynn Carreño is a James Beard Award–winning journalist and the author and coauthor of several cookbooks, including the soon-to-be-published The Mozza Cookbook (with Nancy Silverton); Eat Me (w... Read more